Alison O’Brien is the associate dean of Undergraduate Programs for the School of Business at George Mason University. O’Brien, an assistant professor of management at Mason since the fall of 1999, directs all academic support and student service programs for the undergraduate student body at the School of Business. She assumed the post effective January 25, 2005.

Since joining the Mason faculty in 1999, O’Brien has taught courses in management strategy and policy, organizational behavior, and decision science and finance. She also served as chair of the School of Business’s undergraduate policy committee, guiding the development of a number of new initiatives that have enhanced academic procedures and the quality of student experiences in the undergraduate program.

O’Brien’s research interests center on organizational behavior and work motivation. She has published works in a wide-range of academic journals, including the Journal of Management, Journal of Family Relations, and Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. Her professional affiliations include the Academy of Management, American Psychological Association, Society of Human Resource Management, and Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology.

O’Brien came to George Mason University after a highly successful career in business consulting and the telecommunications field. She served as Director, Finance Planning and Controller of the Sprint Corporation throughout the 1980s and now serves as Managing Director of ASO Consulting, Inc., an independent consulting firm specializing in business planning and organizational analysis.

O’Brien earned her undergraduate degree in finance from the University of Florida, Gainesville. She also holds an MBA from Brenau College in Georgia, master’s degree in industrial and organizational psychology from George Mason University and a PhD in industrial and organizational psychology from George Mason.